Automotive dealerships are no longer competing with other dealerships to win customers in the digital world. The real competition is coming from sites outside automotive such as Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and Tinder, which have created new standards of personalization for shoppers. These destinations use machine learning to understand customers’ wants and needs and to provide smarter product recommendations. Customers expect automotive sites to match the experience they’re getting outside the industry.

What do grocery stores, weather apps, and streaming content providers have in common?

ANSWER: They all use concierge services to personalize the user experience, and drive revenue.

Concierge services include anything that puts items or services in front of customers before they even realize they need it. It’s the approach behind grocery stores that present coupons and special offers based on a customer’s shopping habits and previous purchases. It’s what drives the code behind those spot-on recommendations from Amazon and Netflix.

The general demand for concierge service has also been the catalyst for companies like Uber, TaskRabbit, Fiverr and the multitude of subscription services now available.

We’ve already seen the growth potential in this area thanks to the rise of online shopping. Not only are people happy to order clothes and personal items online, now grocery store sales are taking off. It’s an industry that is expected to grow to more than $100 billion by 2025.

Meanwhile, Amazon is setting the bar when it comes to driving sales based on recommendations. The approach of recommending products now accounts for a third of their annual sales.

Artificial Intelligence used to be something you’d only see in science-fiction novels, comics or movies. But these days AI isn’t just for Terminators and space ships with an axe to grind. Car dealers are now able to use AI to improve personalization on their website and engage customers more fully – engagement that can be turned into conversions if you know how to use the tools properly.

In this live web chat from August 2017 with AutoLeadStar Co-Founder and CEO Aharon Horwitz we explored the Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools revolutionizing automotive digital marketing. We learned how to get started with AI today, and we even got a sneak peek at AutoLeadStar’s brand-new just-released machine learning tool coming in the Fall 2017, designed to solve some of today’s biggest online marketing challenges, including intrusive, mismatched popups and lack of personalization.

Learn how AI can customize every stage of the online shopping process by:

Tracking user behavior in real time to offer relevant content

Eliminating the busywork of campaign segmentation

Scaling personalization to all customers throughout the buying journey

Artificial Intelligence used to be something you’d only see in science-fiction novels, comics or movies. But these days AI isn’t just for Terminators and space ships with an axe to grind. Car dealers are now able to use AI to improve personalization on their website and engage customers more fully – engagement that can be turned into conversions if you know how to use the tools properly.

Personalization is the newest way to connect with customers and stand out from the sea of advertisements and content jockeying for customer attention. By using AI technology, dealers can create smarter pop-ups, customized advertisements and better search engine results that place their dealership front and center.

The automotive industry is built on strong relationships and trust. So the shift to digital presents a challenge: bringing that personalized experience to online shoppers without face-to-face interaction. With smart targeting personalization technology, dealerships can create a customized online shopping experience that builds trust, promotes satisfaction, and boosts leads and sales.

In this 20-minute webinar recording, DealerRefresh Founder Jeff Kershner along with host Ryan Gerardi sit down with AutoLeadStar Head of Business Development Ilana Zur to discuss “How Smart Targeting Can Customize Online Shopping to Boost Leads and Sales.”

In the recording we address the following questions:

Why should dealers consider “Personalization?”

What is Personalization?

What are some examples of Smart Targeting?

What is a Feedback Loop?

How do you define Dealer Success with Smart Targeting?

In the webinar we introduce AutoLeadStar’s new White Paper, “Creating a Personalized Dealership Website” which you can download free here or by texting AUTOLEADSTAR to 555888.

Today’s shoppers expect a personalized experience. They respond to websites that address their individual interests, and are repelled by those that do not. In fact, 74% of customers express frustration at being shown website content not specifically relevant to their needs, demonstrating the new standard of personalization that has taken hold across industries.

With 88% of customers starting their car shopping journey online, and 40% visiting only one dealership before purchasing, creating a personalized shopping experience is essential for dealership websites to reach customers and grow their sales.

What is personalization?

In the showroom, personalization is intuitive and natural. When a customer walks in, you ask them what they are looking for and guide them accordingly. When a return customer calls, you greet them by name and follow up on the previous conversation. When a customer is frustrated, you can address it on the spot.

Without face-to-face interaction, personalization is dramatically more dif cult. How can a dealership understand customers’ interests and answer their questions before speaking to them?

And yet, personalization is possible on dealership websites. Content, messages, and offers can be targeted to specifc website visitors based on factors such as location, device, and behavior onsite. Optimal times to reach out can be predicted. It is possible to give customers valuable, customized service even without ever meeting them.

It’s Sunday morning and my phone buzzes with a notification. Text? Email? Nope. I was just tagged in a Facebook photo.

That makes sense because I have that ONE paparazzi friend. You know who I’m talking about. The friend whose life mission is to relentlessly photograph every outing. He awkwardly snaps photos at any possible chance. He interrupts meals for photos. He bothers busy waiters to ask for group shots.

Dealership websites that track online shopping behavior

If you have purchased goods on Amazon.com recently, take a minute to go back to their website. Did you notice that it recognized who you were and even made recommendations for you to consider purchasing today?

If you book travel online, sites like Expedia and Travelocity are designed to use your shopping behavior to trigger special promotions and offers. Would it surprise you that travel sites mighty offer you a $20 a night room rate discount on the third visit to a particular hotels reservation page?

Personalization of website pages by online shopping behavior is common practice in the larger ecommerce industry so it begs the question, why should dealership website be a “one size fits all” design? Would conversion and engagement INCREASE if automotive web designers used online consumer shopper behavior and cookie data to personalize the shopping experience?

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Editors

Jeff Kershner

I’m the founder of DealerRefresh. I got my start in the dealer business when I was 18. From there I've worked throughout several departments within fixed to variable ops. Whether it’s managing the desk, perfecting sales process or studying online marketing and media trends, I absolutely love this business and the challenges it brings. On top of keeping up with DealerRefresh, I consult with dealerships and key industry businesses. My passion has been and continues to be helping dealers leverage new media to sell and improve customer service.

Alex Snyder

2019 marks Alex's 30th year in the car business. In that time he has had a front-row seat for the rise of the Internet and has been working to bring the online and offline dealership experience closer. Whether you knew him from his life at Checkered Flag or his years with Dealer.com/DealerTrack/Cox Alex has remained an opinionated DealerRefresh contributor who enjoys nothing more than to poke at the unsaid truths in our industry. He also helped found FRIKINtech.